Natural History

opens with an extremely sweet and powdery champaca and rose. theres a pleasant smoke thats almost like a plastic smoke, not in a bad way. once the champaca is starting to settle down, it gains a static and grainy aspect, if that makes sense. after the champaca is gone, a beautiful rich oud begins to shine. theres a resinous and balsamic tofu balsam. this is just stunning!

I find this one to be unlike most of the fragrances I have tried. It is not trying to be a crowd pleasing scent for the masses. Instead, it attempts to create a unique experience and, for the most part, I think it is successful in doing this. Reading over previous reviews there are many different response and many find the most powerful notes far different than other reviewers. This re-enforces how this one is not easy to categorize. It start with rose mai and juniper, a sweetness that is quickly followed by birch and castoreum, an then along comes musk, oud, benzoin and ambergris. This journey is more like a zig zag than a straightforward journey. I cannot say I love the way it smells, but I admire the creativity and effort to experiment. I would wear this among people who are looking to be surprised and who are curious and directions that fragrance might go in the future. I am glad I have had a chance to sample it. It has moderate silage, good longevity, is unisex. I think it leans male and more toward evening wear. For those looking for something different, it is well worth trying.

Testing this blind from the discovery set, opens animalistic and amber. There's a bit of sweet pungency with aromatic elements throughout. While intriguing and a bit complex the musky animalistic element keeps me at bay. It's just ever so much too much in this realm. Looking at the notes, I can't place most. The Castoreum is the most prominent to me, followed by the variety of amber, oud, balsam, opopomax. More of the herbal notes, like juniper etc I think would better balance. Good sillage and longevity, but straight face on the blend.

I get a blast of florals in the opening with a sweet, rubbery quality (likely ambergris, I get a similar feel in Afrikaan Ambergris by U.A.) after some time, I get this nearly medicinal, leathery, somewhat resinous feel. It is decently sweet, with something I can't particularly describe. I will admit this has some good blending where it's hard to detect a super specific note, only the 'gist' of it. Not for me unfortunately but I appreciate the blend quality

Strangely I pick up a cherry note in the opening, maybe its the juniper mixed with the florals and sandalwood thats creating that accord for me. Its got the signature sticky, dense and gooey texture from this house. The ambergris and deer musk is not prominent, its just playing a supporting role. I find the rose to be quite subtle too, i keep getting a nice, soft fruity cherry note. The base is resinous and waxy. Although this scent doesn't project aggressively, i think the wearer will detect it easily on his/her own skin. A really beautiful wear, one of the best from this house.